


Too Late

by zhangjing



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cheating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 01:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14509098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhangjing/pseuds/zhangjing
Summary: Zhengting spent his time worrying about Xukun until he decided it was enough.





	Too Late

Zhengting glanced for the hundredth time this night at the clock. The red digital numbers showed 3:20 AM. His eyes were heavy and he couldn't stop yawning every two seconds, but Zhengting forced himself to stay awake. 

"For Xukun," he whispered to himself. "He would've done the same thing for me."

Zhengting was almost used to it, it happened every Friday night. However, this time, even the energized drinks couldn't make his tiredness go away. The same sappy TV show had been playing on repeat since midnight. Just like each time, Zhengting kept all the lights in the apartment open so that Xukun would find his way home easily. 

The next time Zhengting checked his phone, it was already 4 AM. Xukun never came home that late. The latest he had come home was at 3:30, though he was so drunk that the taxi driver had to come up with him. Zhengting suddenly snapped out of his trance, like if someone threw a bucket of water on his head. A few seconds ago, he could barely keep his eyes open, but now, they were filled with worry. 

_What if Xukun got into a fight? What if he was injured? What if he was kidnapped?_

He tried calling him a couple of times and as usual, no answers. Xukun always pretended that his phone died during those nights and Zhengting always believed him, even though deep down, he knew he was lying. 

Just when he was about to text him, the front door of their tiny apartment slammed open on their wall. The impact was so strong that Zhengting felt the whole place tremble. Right in front of his eyes stood Cai Xukun, his boyfriend since high school, intoxicated as ever. He wobbled his way to Zhengting's arms, eyes barely opened and with a big giddy smile on his face. 

"Miss youuu," Xukun giggled, embracing Zhengting tightly. When Xukun began to shower his neck with sloppy kisses, Zhengting knew he had to forgive him.

* * *

 

A month had passed, and Zhengting was now wondering how in the world did Xukun end up at the police station. It was the eve of their sixth anniversary. Instead of having a movie and cuddles night, they were both half an hour away from home, at the police station near the mall. 

It all started when Xukun told Zhengting he was going to the mall. Zhengting reassured him, he didn't have to buy him anything. Xukun didn't have a stable full-time job like Zhengting, he preferred composing music that he never released. However, Xukun insisted, feeling bad that it was always Zhengting who spoiled him, and he never gave anything back. 

If Zhengting knew Xukun was going to  _steal_ a pair of 1500RMB Gucci flip flops, he would've stopped him. 

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Xukun kept repeating to the officers who were staring at him with an annoyed look. "It was a mistake! I didn't steal them!"

Seeing his lover in handcuffs made Zhengting's heart swell. His nails were digging so hard into his palm that he thought his hand was going to bleed. Xukun's hair was messy and his shirt was crumpled as if someone had brought him back by force. There was a bit of red under Xukun's chin, a scratch perhaps, but it wasn't there this morning. Zhengting could notice every single little detail about him, even if it hurt everytime. Some nights, Xukun would come back home with bruises all over his neck or scratches on his back. He would constantly try to hide them by applying concealer on his skin, yet Zhengting still noticed when his neck was a little paler than usual.

"Cut the bullshit!" snapped an officer as his co-worker hit him on the leg with his baton. Xukun gasped in pain and his eyes were starting to water.

Not being able to watch any of this anymore, Zhengting practically leaped on his boyfriend, serving as a protective barrier between him and the cops. "Don't touch him!" he tried yelling, but all that came out was his shaky voice. "I'll p-pay for everything. Just don't h-hurt him please."

"This isn't the first time he was caught shoplifting," grumbles an officer. "Cai Xukun's face is almost famous among the stores' managers. They catch him at least once per month. But tonight, we finally arrived in time to arrest him."

Zhengting's chest grew so tight, it was almost impossible for him to breathe. He felt like if someone had just shot him in the chest. The only thing he could think about was:  _What the fuck Xukun._

And maybe, for the first time in six years, Zhengting started to question their relationship. 

* * *

 

Zhengting ended up spending all the money he had saved this year to bail Xukun out of jail. He was planning on taking him to the Maldives in the summer, but that could wait. 

Their relationship was a rollercoaster, Zhengting was already used to it. That's why he wasn't surprised at all when Xukun decided to be sober for the rest of the month. 

"You're not going out tonight?" Zhengting asked while trying to find a good movie to play. "It's Friday."

"I would rather spend the night with you," Xukun softly answered, snuggling up against Zhengting for warmth. He buried his face into his boyfriend's neck and pouted. The action was completely innocent, but Zhengting felt like he was falling in love again. 

They ended up watching the new Happy Camp episode, cuddling. "What a dumbass!! He could've won the game if he didn't listen to him!" Zhengting shouted at the TV, frustrated. However, he didn't notice that during the entire show, Xukun's eyes never left him. He stared at him with a tiny smile and adoration in his eyes. Maybe if Zhengting had seen this side of Xukun, things would've been different.

The next morning, Zhengting had to leave early for his dance class. He loved his job, but teaching ballet to 5-year-olds on a Saturday morning wasn't his main motivation.

"Where are you going, don't leave me," Xukun whined, holding Zhengting's hand tightly. Sleepy and pouty Xukun was way too adorable for Zhengting. He couldn't resist and pressed a gentle kiss on his nose. "I need to go to work, Kunkun."

"Okay, but I want to come with you!"

And that's what he did. At first, Xukun didn't really help much, the kids were all sticking around him, curious about the new "handsome gege". But as the day passed by, he would sometimes be in charge of playing the music or would even go buy water bottles for his boyfriend. In between classes, he would rub his back and they would mostly talk about how talented and attractive Zhengting was. Before the massage could turn into something more daring, some random child would always barge in. 

Xukun would get frustrated while Zhengting just laughed it off. "It's not like we were going to have sex in a practice room," he ruffled his boyfriend's hair. "We could probably go to jail for this." Xukun forced himself to laugh, forced himself to make it seem like he was just joking. But once again, Zhengting wasn't dumb and noticed how his boyfriend wasn't acting the same way for the rest of the day. He chose to ignore it. It was the calm before the storm. 

* * *

 

Xukun started not coming back home on Friday nights again and Zhengting was getting more and more worried again.

However, that night, Zhengting's friends were sick of seeing him pity himself on his fate. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and they wanted to go to a club together, the four of them. So there he was, in the front seat of Wenjun's car, feeling as free as ever. His friends really knew how to make him laugh and forget about all of his problems.

As soon as they walked in, Zeren dragged him to the dancefloor. In high school, they were the best dancers of their dancing team and everywhere they went, as long as there was music, they would invent a choreography on the spot. The music was too loud for his comfort and he was surrounded by too many sweaty bodies, but he didn't care. For once, he didn't think about Xukun. All that mattered was Xinchun, Zeren, Wenjun and him, singing at the top of their lungs to this slow dance song, their voice cracking every ten seconds. 

"First round is on me!" shouted Xinchun as he made his way to the bar. He came back with a few glasses filled with an unknown liquid. Zhengting definitely had no clue of what he was drinking. After a drink, he felt more relaxed and at ease, so he took another one. And another one. Until he felt too tired to continue dancing and Wenjun, being the good friend he was, helped him walk over to the nearest seat. "I'm going to find you some water, don't move."

Zhengting didn't plan on going anywhere. He could barely make out who were the two guys grinding on each other a meter or two away from him. One of them was tall and had his dark hair in a little ponytail. The other one was blonde and had a mole on his left cheek.  _A mole on his left cheek._

"Cai Xukun!" Zhengting suddenly started screaming. All that could come out of his mouth was: "Cai Xukun! Cai Xukun! Cai Xukun! Cai Xukun!" He must had not realized how loud he was, but the people around them gave him weird looks and slowly walked away. The tall man with the ponytail quickly rushed over to Zhengting, bowed, said something unintelligible and left as fast as he came. 

"Cai Xukun! You cheated on me!"

Xukun wasn't exactly sober either since he lost control of his emotions and was yelling as loud as Zhengting. "Surprise bitch! This isn't the first time I'm cheating on you with Ziyi!"

If at this time, Wenjun didn't pull him away, Zhengting probably would've smashed his glass on Xukun's head. Wenjun kept telling him to calm down, that he was drunk and didn't mean what he was saying. But Zhengting ignored him completely, all he saw was red.

"I waited for you to come back every Friday night! Do you know how worried I was for you? Do you know how many Redbulls I had to drink to stay awake? Just because I know you don't handle your alcohol well and I didn't want you to be a mess in the morning! I took care of you! And what do you give me in return?"

This destabilized Xukun for a moment, he didn't know what to say. But then, his words hit hard. "I cheated on you because you're boring as fuck! I love you, but you're so fucking boring! We're not fifteen anymore Zhengting! I love holding your hand, but I want to go further than that!"

Zhengting was fuming. "Don't use try to justify yourself! You're just a cheater! And I don't always hold your hand or kiss you. I just want to remind you that I don't always have time for this!"

Xukun furrowed his eyebrows and walked closer to Zhengting. They were so close that Zhengting could feel the other's breath on his lips. "You're too fucking vanilla Zhu Zhengting. I  _wanted_ us to fuck in your dance studio. We could've fucked after all the kids had left, but no, you preferred going home and watch a damn movie! I hate our movie nights! They're boring as shit and I would much rather be fucking someone else."

Zhengting couldn't remember the rest of the night. Everything was a blur. He remembered screaming, he remembered Wenjun dragging him out of the club. That was it.

* * *

Xukun spent a few days at Ziyi's place. It was smaller than Zhengting's apartment, but it was still cozy. Ziyi was a sweetheart and didn't mind having his company at all. However, he would get more and more distant, and his touch didn't feel as intimate as before. When Xukun asked him why, Ziyi simply answered with: "I don't want to be involved in cheating." 

It didn't take long for Xukun to notice that Ziyi didn't really want him there anymore. He would leave the apartment more often and sometimes, he would stay the night somewhere else. Xukun also kind of missed Zhengting... 

He left Ziyi without saying goodbye. It was better for everyone. 

But when Xukun arrived in front of Zhengting's apartment and tried opening the door, it was locked. Knowing Zhengting, he would've never locked the door if he knew Xukun wasn't home. When he knocked on the door, it wasn't Zhengting who answered. It was another guy who opened.

"Hi?" he blinked, confused. "How can I help you?"

"Uh, is Zhu Zhengting here?" Xukun seemed even more confused than the stranger. Did he knock on the wrong door? Certainly not, the number 82 was clearly on the door. He remembered Zhengting specifically chose this apartment since the number matched with Xukun's birthday. 

The guy laughed, his dimples were showing. It wasn't a mean or joyful laugh. More a "you're dumb" laugh. "I'm sorry, Zhengting and I switched apartments. You're Cai Xukun, right? I'm really sorry, Zhengting is a petty person, he threw away all of your stuff. I mean not everything, he gave your microphone and guitar to our friend Wenjun. He's a good singer."

"Is there any way I could contact him? He blocked my number."

Xukun was desperate. He missed Zhengting so much. He _needed_ him.

"Sorry, you're too late," the dimpled stranger smiled, before closing the door.

 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if there's any mistakes, english isn't my first language!
> 
> and you can always talk to me on twitter @adorecxk :))


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